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Counties' Boulevard Spat May End

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By JULIA FERRANTE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 22, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - Pasco County officials maintain Hillsborough County has 'no legal basis' to demand $28 million for improvements to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, despite claims the Wiregrass Ranch mall and related developments will create significant new demands on the road.

Pasco officials said Friday they were close to a settlement with the state Department of Community Affairs that could end Hillsborough's claims for compensation. The agreement spells out road projects to be completed in the second and third phases of Wiregrass Ranch, a development or regional impact. The first phase includes a mall and neighborhoods. The second and third phases are largely residential.

'In my opinion, Hillsborough is asking for a handout,' said David Goldstein, a senior assistant county attorney in Pasco. 'They have vested tons of development on Bruce B. Downs...and didn't make any of them pay for it. Wiregrass comes along, and they are asking for $28 million. Their request is 10 times what they have assessed developers in their county.'

If the DCA signs off on the agreement, it would end the agency's objections to a development order filed in an appeal this month, Goldstein said. DCA officials could not be reached for comment.

Urged by Hillsborough County, which does not have standing to appeal, the DCA asked Wiregrass and Pasco officials to specify in a development order which roads would be improved. Pasco's response: Improve Interstate 75 and State Road 54.

'The ironic thing is that by forcing us to do this, we have identified improvements that are not in Hillsborough County,' Goldstein said. 'Sometimes, you have to be careful what you wish for.'

The need for improvements on Bruce B. Downs did not rise to the level of those needed on S.R. 54 and I-75, Goldstein said. Those projects could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, far more than the $300 million set aside for phases 2 and 3 of Wiregrass.

Hillsborough County Administrator Pat Bean said Friday she is seeking clarification on why the DCA did not include Hillsborough's request for money in the appeal. She said the Wiregrass development will 'force us to have to widen Bruce B. Downs further than we thought.'

'Why do we have a DRI process if it is not for the protection of another county that will be affected by development?' Bean said. 'Why do we have a regional planning council to look at the regional implications of a project?'

Bean said Hillsborough did not charge developers along Bruce B. Downs too little.

'When we approve a development, we have both attorneys and folks in development review sit together and identify issues and options,' she said. 'They are not all transportation projects. They may include a park or school sites.'

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

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